


Don't You Want Me?

by redandwhiteroses



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dark fic, Dark!Tony Stark, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Possessive Behavior, Reader Insert, suicide threat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23637349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redandwhiteroses/pseuds/redandwhiteroses
Summary: You used to be a student who waited tables at fancy restaurants to pay for school. All of that changed when Tony Stark took an interest you. Years down the line, you think it might be time to get out.Please read the tags on this! This is a dark fic, so the tags are important.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 72





	Don't You Want Me?

“Hey, JARVIS!” You call out to the AI as you step out of your room. Tony had taken the liberty to install the program in your apartment, claiming that JARVIS would improve your life so much. You were thrilled at the time. Tony had been right; JARVIS truly made your life so much better, but you were more wary of the AI at the moment. In retrospect, you think Tony just wanted another way to keep an eye on you.

Not that you could let on about that. So you had to keep on using JARVIS like normal. 

“Good morning.” JARVIS intones. You managed to convince him to not refer to you by name or any sort of honorific unless someone else was around. “I trust you slept well?”

You smile softly to yourself as you head into the kitchen. “Yes, I did. Thank you for asking.” You open the fridge and begin inspecting its contents. “Can you find out what my one o’clock’s favorite drink is? Or dessert? I’m not picky; I just want to have something to butter him up with.”

“I’m afraid that your one o’clock cancelled.” Something seems off about JARVIS’s tone, as if the cancellation wasn’t exactly voluntary. You straighten up, closing the fridge door with a snap.

“Cancelled? What do you mean, cancelled?” A scowl makes its way onto your face. That meeting was supposed to help you, get you one step closer to getting out of this hellhole.

“Mr. Miller was in an unfortunate accident that made travel impossible. He is currently in the ICU at UCLA’s Medical Center.” Your eyes widen at that, and your scowl falls off of your face. 

“Oh God.” You breathe softly. “How bad was it?”

“The tabloids are reporting that he may not walk again. Would you like me to send a get-well basket of some sort?” The offer was genuine. Such a line would be sarcastic when said to Tony, but JARVIS knew that you meant it when you sent things like that.

“Please.” You sit down at one of the stool by the kitchen island. You weren’t sure if island or bar was a better word for the structure. For a moment, you just sit there in silence. How could that have happened? The man wasn’t an outdoors man, so it couldn’t have been an accident from that. He was rich, so it was highly unlike he got hit by a car walking. He might have been in a car wreck? But you knew he hired cautious drivers.

“It would appear that it has already been taken care off.” JARVIS breaks you out of your thoughts. 

“By who?” You have to ask the question, even though a sinking feeling in your gut tells you who did it.

“I thought I’d save you the trouble, kid.” Tony’s voice sounds from the doorway to your apartment. He saunters in and shuts it behind him with his foot, taking his sunglasses off in the process. You smile at him. You’re not sure it quite reaches your eyes.

“Morning, handsome.” You get up and go over to him. He waits for you, opening his arms after beckoning you with a ‘come here’ gesture. You wrap your arms around him, and he does the same to you. You try not to notice how tight his grip is. He doesn’t let you go for a good minute. When he does, you kiss both of his cheeks. You try to leave, but he ‘tsks’ at you.

“Come on. You know what I want.” He teases. You roll your eyes, but you go through with it. You kiss him again. He always responds with voracity, like a man starved, but this time something is different. It’s got an underlying edge to it, one you’re not sure you like. The feeling gets worse as you try to pull away because he grabs a handful of your hair and keeps your head still. You have to thump his shoulders several times to get him to let you go.

“You should have told me you were coming by earlier than you said!” You admonish him. “I haven’t cleaned up yet!”

“You don’t need to go to that trouble for me. You’re always beautiful.” He gives you a charming grin, and you roll your eyes. He still hasn’t let you go.

“I meant the apartment.” You huff, although there’s no real heat to it. He finally lets you go, and you step back. Quickly, you turn and head towards the kitchen. A noise lets you know that he’s probably thrown himself on the couch. “Have you had breakfast yet? Do you want me to make you anything?”

“Got food coming. Don’t worry about cooking.” He sounds dismissive. “It’s from that pancake place nearby. Coffee is from that cafe you like so much.”

“Oh. Thank you.” You turn back to face him. Just as you thought, he’s sprawled out over the couch, feet up on one of the arms. To anyone who didn’t know him, he’d look as comfortable as can be.

But you do know him. So you know that this is an act, some sort of trick. He’s putting on part of his playboy persona. In public, you have no problem with it, but when it’s just the two of you, you hate it. Namely because it means something bad is about to happen.

“What is it?” You ask. He looks at you, wide eyes and innocent expression. “Tony. What is it? What did I do?”

The fabric of the couch rustles as he slowly sits up. He takes a moment to admire the vase of flowers on the side table. “Do you remember when we met?”

“Yes?” You frown softly, taking several steps forward. “How could I forget?”

&&&&&&&&&&

You had been working at some fancy schmancy place at the time. You hated it, hated the place and the food and the people, but you needed the money. Grad school wasn’t cheap, especially when you were getting your PhD. Every night you consoled yourself with the knowledge that one day, you were going to have your PhD in chemical engineering, and then you could make money. Your specialty was nuclear engineering, so you had been hoping to work at Stark Industries. That was right after, well, everything with Tony. He’d just come out as Iron Man several weeks before you started working on your thesis. 

Honestly, that had made you more determined to work for Stark Industries. Not the working for a superhero part, although that was a draw, but the fact that he was clearly committed to doing better than he did. He was no longer an arms dealer, but something else. Something better. Which is what you wanted because you wanted to do something better with nuclear power. You were tired of rockets and bombs and weapons of mass destruction, and you didn’t want to work at some power plant either. You wanted to revolutionize nuclear energy so that it wasn’t seen as a weapon or a liability but rather something... good? You weren’t sure what exactly. Just that you were going to change the public perception of nuclear energy for the better.

Everyone knew when Tony came into the room. The place nearly went wild. You had just hoped for a glimpse of him, knowing that you could always see him later when you worked for the company. You had always been so sure of yourself, so convinced that you would get what you wanted. You didn’t get a good look because some elderly couple were trying to flag you down. You hated them the most because they were ruthless with their critiques. They made up a story about a girl ignoring them for a full two hours just to get a free meal. You had been there and seen it, so you knew. The girl had been prompt and courtesy, and she had spent way more time with them and attending to their needs than anyone else.

For whatever reason, they loved you. They always demanded to be seated in your section. They never tipped you, though.

You saw the woman start to lean over to say something to her husband, so you made your way over to them. She had just started laying into you about gawking and how you needed to pay attention to the customers, even though you had just tried to look for less than a second, when a hand tapped your shoulder, and the manager said something to them. Another server came over, and you realized that he was being switched out for you.

You wondered what you did wrong, and you were about to ask your manager as much, but you stopped. Your managed looked... happy? Ecstatic? 

“You saw who just came in, right?” Phil, your then manager, asked you. You nodded.

“Yeah. Tony Stark.” You tried to keep your disdain for Phil out of your tone. Of course you knew! 

“He wants you to be his waitress. And only his. I’ll call in Andrea to take your other tables.” Phil’s eyes were shining. You saw several crisp bills peaking out from Phil’s pocket. Something told you they were hundreds.

You went over to the table. Your heart was doing somersaults in your chest, and your heart rate sped up to two or three times its normal pace when you got there. He lowered his sunglasses to look at you, and oh. You were done for. You knew how he got women so easily just from that look. He gave you a cocky smile that made your knees want to buckle and said your name.

“That’s your name, right?” 

“Yes sir, Mr. Stark.” You nodded. His eyes darkened slightly at that. 

“Take a seat.” He patted the booth beside him. You shook your head.

“I’m afraid I can’t, Mr. Stark.”

“Sit, kid. You’re making me anxious.” He pat the booth again. You shook your head. “And call me Tony.”

“I’d love to, Mr. St- Tony. I’d love to, but I’m afraid I can’t with my manager looking.” You give him a shy smile. 

“Your manager isn’t going to mind. Now come on.”

“Yeah, but the grouchy old couple in the other corner will.” The words are out of your mouth before you can think about them. Your eyes widen, and your blush deepens. You’re about to apologize, but Tony just... starts laughing.

“I knew you’d be great.” He wipes his eyes before patting the booth once more. “Sit. If they have a problem, tough shit. Actually, I want them to have a problem. It’s funny to watch their heads exploded.” 

Hesitantly, you sit down. You place the menu on the table before you do so. He motions for you to slide over more. “I don’t bite. At least, not without consent. I’m not an animal.” You snort and slide closer. It’s apparently not close enough because he wraps one hand around your waist and pulls you so close that your sitting right next to him. He looks at you. “Is this cool? Are we cool? Or were you actually more comfortable over there? Because if you were, I can let you go. But I don’t think you were.”

“Here is good.” Your voice is soft. You shift, trying to look him in the eyes. His light hold around your waist tightens. With his free hand, he grabs the menu and flips it open with practiced ease. He says your name as he reads over the menu. He says it like he wants to memorize it, rolls it around on his tongue like it’s some sort of sweet dish. You aren’t sure if he’s laying it on thick out of habit or to ensure you go home with him. If it was the latter, he didn’t have to. You knew that you would be going home with him the minute he first looked at you.

“Tell me.” He pauses to look at a drink. “Okay, I thought it was going to be one thing, but I’ve got two questions for you. First, what kind of girl are you? Are you a wine girl or a beer girl? Or are you a liquor girl? My money is on liquor girl.”

“Liquor girl.” You hesitantly nod. He winks at you.

“I knew I liked you for a reason. What’s your poison?”

“Do you mean from the menu or in general?”

“In general.” He leans back, his hold on you loosening some. “Wait, no. Don’t tell me. Either gin or bourbon. Maybe rum.”

“Bourbon, but rum is a close second.” Tony makes a triumphant noise at that.

“Two out of three is pretty good.” He looks at you over top of his sunglasses again. You’re acutely aware that people are sneaking glances at the two of you. They think they’re subtle about it, but they aren’t. Well, most of the people are trying to be subtle. The old couple is straight up glaring at you. He makes a noise, drawing your attention back to him. “Don’t pay them any attention. They feed off of attention. God, your eyes are gorgeous.”

You can’t help your blush. “I- uh. Thank you. That’s very sweet. You had another question for me?” You feel out of control, so you try and steer the conversation towards something you might can handle better. 

“No one has told you that before, have they?” The hand around your waist goes up to play with your hair. He’s still looking at you over top of his sunglasses. His expression is intense, and his gaze is focused entirely on you. “I’m serious. Your eyes are gorgeous. God. I can’t believe no one has ever told you that before.”

“I- Thank you, Tony. I appreciate it.” Your face feels like it’s practically on fire, so you try to dip your head. He snakes a hand under it before you can do anything, lifting your chin up with a finger. 

“Nope. You’re not hiding those pretty eyes from me.” You try not to squirm as he looks at you.

“What do you want to drink?” Maybe this time you can get him to focus on something else. “If you’re in the mood for something with liquor, I’d like to su-”

“Whatever you normally drink is good by me.” Tony, quite literally, waves the question away. “I had another question for you. Multiple, actually, but we’ll get to those.” He pauses for a moment. This time, he seems to be considering you. “Why are you working here?”

You blink. The question isn’t what you expected. “I- Money.”

“Obviously.” He rolls his eyes. “But what do you need the money for? Don’t tell me living because I know it’s beyond that.”

You hesitate for a second. He’s watching you, clearly waiting for an answer. “I’m a grad student. I need the extra money to make sure that I can pay for school and everything.”

“Grad student in what? And are you going for your Masters or do you already have it?” He lets out an amused huff. “Don’t look at me like that. I know someone smart when I see them.”

“Nuclear engineering. I’m working on my PhD right now.”

“That explains the world-weariness about you.” Tony teases. “And nuclear engineering, huh? There’s this little company, I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, called... what’s it called again?” He hums in mock thought, putting a hand to his chin. You can’t help the giggle that escapes you. He’s about to open his mouth when someone clears their throat right beside you.

You nearly jump. Shit. It’s that old lady. You try not to look guilt. Tony, on the other hand, levels her with a cool look.

“Can I help you.” His tone makes it clear that he would love nothing more than for her to fuck off. You start to pull away, but Tony’s arm comes back and wraps around your waist. It’s tighter this time.

“Young lady.” The old lady begins. “I don’t know where you get off acting in su-”

Tony rolls his eyes and makes a fart noise. She looks at him, affronted. “Excuse me, sir, but I do-”

“Go away, Dolores.” He makes a shooing motion with his hand. “No one cares what you think.”

“Listen here you little twerp. I don’t know who you think you are or who you’re talking to, but I wi-” 

“Tony Stark.” He interrupts her once more. Her expression drops for a second. “Yeah, that Tony Stark. And this is my friend.” He says your name fondly, as if the two of you have known each other for ages. “I don’t care who you are, and frankly, I don’t think she does either. Honestly, I don’t think anyone gives a fuck who you are or think you are.” Everyone in the place is know openly watching. You try and wriggle away once again, but he stops you. You see your manager and give him a pleading look. The lady looks as if she’s about to start a tirade. Tony follows your gaze. He smiles and motions for your manager to come over. Phil scurries over to the table.

“Mr. Stark? How can I help you?” He seems all too eager to please. 

“Throw Tweedledee and Tweedledum here out.” He motions to the older couple. “They’ve been harassing my girl here. Actually, I can tell you just from looking at them, they’ve been harassing all of your staff. How many have you fired because of what these two have said? Things that you know aren’t true, but you still did it anyway?”

Your manager starts stuttering apologies, and you decide it is high time you got out of there before the situation becomes worse. 

You don’t remember the rest of the night too much. You do recall that they got kicked out. Tony got another server to come over because he decided that he wanted you to stay and talk to him. You aren’t sure exactly how it happened, although you know it was clearly planned, but you left that place without a job. In its place, you had a sugar daddy. 

Well, Tony was only supposed to be your sugar daddy. But you knew that wasn’t going to last for long, especially when the night ended with him balls deep in you, talking about how gorgeous you looked and how he was the luckiest man in the world. 

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

“Do you want to go back to work there?” Tony’s questions throws your completely off-guard.

“No! Tony what the hell is this about?” He levels you with a look.

“I know you were talking with whatever his face is about branching out on your own.” His tone sends unpleasant shivers down your spine. You aren’t sure what to do or say. “So when were you planning on telling me you were leaving me?”

“Tony, I’m not leaving you.” He raises an eyebrow. “I just...” You have to pause to collect your thoughts.

“I’m listening.”

“I... I don’t like that people say I just got my job and everything because I’m your... whatever this is.” You let out a sigh. “It’s not anything about you. It’s about me.”

He just looks at you for a second before standing up. “Okay. Good. I’m glad to hear it. That means I don’t have to send you packing. Because I thought for a second that I might have to do just that.” He’s agitated, his whole body language screaming how on edge he is. “I don’t give a fuck what other people say, and neither should you. We’re happy, right? Or is that just a lie?”

“We’re happy!” You’re quick to assure him, making your way over to him. “Tony, what’s wrong?”

“A little birdie told me that you might be leaving me.” He looks at you. “Normally, I wouldn’t believe this little birdie, but he seemed convinced that you asked him for help leaving. And as annoying as he is, I don’t think that blond, spangled-ass little birdie can lie.”

Your heart sinks. You had talked to Steve in confidence several weeks ago, and you may have brought up that you weren’t sure how to leave Tony. It had been under the guise of wanting to branch out and do your own thing, but it was clear Steve read between the lines. He knew what you were really asking.

Captain America knew that you wanted out of this relationship with Tony, and he told him. Captain America snitched on you.

That knowledge breaks your heart. Despite your best efforts, tears start welling up in the corner of your eyes. You can feel Tony watching. You take a deep breath to try and steady yourself. “I- I’m sorry, Tony. He seemed like he could give me a good perspective since he’s removed from the situation.”

Tony looks at you. The hurt and rage and anger on his face makes it clear that you won’t beg getting out of this easy. “Yeah, well. Next time you have those doubts, come to me first. Or am I not enough anymore?”

“Tony! It’s not like that.” You can’t help it; you start crying “It’s not like that at all!”

“It better not be.” He growls. He looks torn, as if he wants to stalk over to you but also can’t stand the sight of you. He takes two steps forward. “You’re staying. Fuck what people say. You’re staying here. With me.” You aren’t sure what to do, so you just nod in response. He takes several more steps towards you, these much more gentle. “I need you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. You know that, right? I’d be nowhere without you.” He takes the last several steps towards you, gently taking a hold of your wrists. “I’d be nowhere without you, and you’d be nowhere without me. We need each other.”

“We need each other.” You repeat.

“You go, and I- Well. I’m not sure I could keep on without you.” He shrugs, but the underlying meaning of his words are clear. “And that’d be sad to rob the world of someone like me. Especially if it’s for some stupid reason. No one wants to see me gone because of something like that. But hey, guys have killed themselves over less.”

“We need each other.” You settle on repeating again. He gives you a small smile before motioning for you to come to him. You do so, and he wraps his arms around you. You bury your face in his chest.

“So you’re staying.” It’s not a question but a statement. You nod. “And you’re not going to leave. Not going to make me do something drastic?”

“Not going to make you do something drastic.” You murmur into his chest. He lets out a noise that you hope means you’ve mollified him. One of his hands comes up to play with the ends of your hair.

“There’s my girl.” A knock on the door interrupts the moment. Tony looks up for a second.

“Breakfast, probably.” You tell him.

“Shit, you’re right! I forgot I ordered that.” He takes a hold of your shoulders and gently pushes you back so he can see your face. “We’re going to have a nice breakfast, yeah? And then you’re going to show me how sorry you really are.” He lets go and heads to the door, whistling as he does so. You stay there for a second before wiping your eyes and putting on a smile.


End file.
